Things To Hide
by Xairathan
Summary: Ruby's staying up late cleaning Crescent Rose when she hears something from the bunk under hers. White Rose Oneshot


Out of all the people Ruby believes to have nightmares, Weiss Schnee was the last person she was expecting. But reality is often crueler than fantasy, and it's late one night- or perhaps early one morning; she can't tell because neither sun nor shattered moon are anywhere within the window's narrow line of sight, that she hears the frantic shifting of sheets under her.

At first she thinks it's Weiss, perhaps awakened by the sound of scythe lubricant swishing around in the bottle as Ruby threw it over the side of her bed, or of Crescent Rose folding back into its rectangular storage form. But then the bunk below her creaks precariously, and Ruby dares vault down from the top bed to check up on her roommate.

And what she sees is certainly not Weiss, at least not a Weiss she knows. There's no way that the icy huntress would be curled up in a fetal position in bed, every line of her face etched with hard fear, her hands clutching at her pillow as if it was the last thing keeping her from slipping into the miasma of something even darker than her dreams.

"Weiss?" Ruby whispers, laying a hand on her shoulder. The girl stirs, if it can even be called that. Really, it's more a spasm that starts from her feet and slowly shakes its way up to her shoulders, and as soon as it reaches her head those cold white eyes fly open and Weiss is reaching for her nightstand, where Myrtenaster usually lays, only Ruby happens to be standing directly between the girl and her preferred weapon.

Their hands meet in midair- Ruby's held up in a placating, self-defensive gesture, Weiss' groping desperately for her rapier. The latter's fingers clench tightly around the first thing she touches, which happens to be her roommate's hand, and Ruby's eyes go wide as Weiss pulls her in fiercely. She lands heavily on the bed, sprawling over Weiss, whose eyes- Ruby notes they've been closed this entire time- flicker open. "Ruby?" she whispers harshly. "What're you doing?"

"You looked like you were having a nightmare," the team leader replies, staring curiously. She expects her teammate to snap back, deny the charge, tell her to go back to sleep and stop imagining things.

What Weiss does instead is motion for Ruby to sit next to her on the bed- she pats a spot next to her with folded fingers, a half-clenched fist- and pulls her knees up to her chest. "Weiss, you okay?" Ruby asks of this unexpected invitation. The older girl shakes her head and mutters something about having to hold it in, about being strong by day. Through this, Ruby notices Weiss still hasn't released her iron grip on her hand.

"You know, I..." Ruby hesitates, struggling to form the words, all too aware of Weiss' eyes that are fixated on hers. "Look, I may not be that... familiar with everything that's gone on. But if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here. Okay?"

Weiss holds Ruby's gaze for a second longer, and the scythe-user swears she sees something flicker behind the other's eyes- not anger, not sadness, _maybe _longing? But the moment passes too quickly for Ruby to do much else, and Weiss is saying, "Maybe another time, Ruby. But tonight... can you just stay down here with me?"

The younger girl nods and slides herself under the bedsheets next to Weiss, who releases Ruby's hand and curls back up, back facing her leader, albeit in a more relaxed position than before. Ruby does a bit of mental deliberating, shifting uncomfortably in place before she abandons all rationality and slides her arms around Weiss, much like Yang had used to hold her back when she still dreamed of her mother.

The icy girl inhales sharply; Ruby can hear it in the night silence. For a second she expects a rebuke, either verbal or physical, but after a moment her shoulders relax and the tension drains out of her. As Ruby begins to drift off into a pleasant sleep, she's faintly aware that Weiss is placing a hand atop hers and squeezing it gently, as if checking the other is still there. The last thing she remembers from that early morning is how _warm _the rapier-user is, despite her cold exterior.


End file.
